Lands of the Fire Flowers
by CoWz-In-GrAsS
Summary: War has broken out between the land of Bara, rose and the land of Hasu, lotus. Tohrue is the Princess of Bara and she and her two body guards Yuki the knight and Kyo the Archer must save their country. True summary inside


_Lands of the Fire Flowers_

Summary: Tohrue is the princess of Bara, the land of the rose. Her country is fighting a losing battle between rivaling country Hasu, land of the lotus. Tohrue possesses the Staff of the Juunishi, which was actually the cause of the war. She then must go to the land of Hasu and defeat the evil Queen Akito, aided by a knight named Yuki named fighter named Kyo. The journey to the land of the Hasu is difficult and long, yet they make many new friends and enemies. Will Tohrue fall in love? If so, with who? All Juunishi will be included.

-

Princess Tohrue waited patiently in her father's throne room. She had a smile on her face as she leaned back and forth slightly. Her silk robe was green and had a large red sash across her middle. The neck cut down low, yet not enough to see her cleavage. Her brown hair had been gracefully braided and fashioned into a twist style around the back of her head. Some of her hair had fallen out and held by her ear. Tohrue was the Princess of Bara, a very wealthy country that was, unfortunately in war with a rivaling country, Hasu. Yet Tohrue never really worried about matters of war, she was always hopelessly optimistic that her country would win.

She looked to the right side, where a warrior waited. She smiled softly at him. He gave her a weak smile in return. The teenage boy had gray hair that fell into his eyes in a delicate fashion. His armor included a shiny silver chest protector, a set of equally shiny shoulder blades that had traces of green around their edges, and a helmet, which he held in his lap. The helmet had a green feather sticking out of the back. He was very handsome, apparently taking great care of his body and his armor.

To her left sat an orange-haired boy about the same age as herself and the stranger on the right of her. This man was leaning back in his seat in a devil-may-care state. He was not heavily armored, unlike the boy on his far right; in fact, he was wearing a silk uniform. On the back of said uniform was the yin yang symbol. The green uniform cut off at his slender shoulders that displayed muscular biceps. Covering his chest and shoulders were the chest protectors that archers bore across their chests. Sure enough at his feet was a bow and arrow. His eyes were sharp and focused, unlike the other stranger's, whose were relaxed and calm. Tohrue smiled at him, he smirked back with a hint of smugness. From what she could tell, she assumed that the boy on her left was a knight and the man on the left was a cross between an archer and a martial artist. In this age and time, all of these professions proved useful.

In the left corner, sat a maid, who was cleaning the stained glass windows. Tohrue couldn't tell, yet it almost seemed as if she cleaning a bit too thoroughly. Like she was waiting. But Tohrue did not pay much attention since the next second, a man entered the room.

The man had a crown on his head and a long green robe, symbolizing that he was the King Honda, ruler of Bara. The three 16-year-olds stood up and bowed, the boys bowing lower than Princess Tohrue. The king gave a motion for the three to sit back down. Tohrue sat back down in the exact place she had before, then the boys kneeled down beside her, awaiting orders from King Honda.

"As you know all, our rival country Hasu has declared war against our country, Bara. You all have known this for a long time, but one of our spies, Uotani-san has informed us that they want to capture and kill my little Tohrue-chan, my daughter," King Honda began. Tohrue's thin, pale hand moved to her mouth in shock.

"W-What might they want with me! I mean, I'm no more special than any other princess!" exclaimed Tohrue, blushing and flustering about.

"But you are, daughter, you are," King Honda said, sighing a bit. "Can you think of any reason why, Yuki-san?" King Honda asked, eyeing the boy on Tohrue's right.

"Yes, the rod of Juunishi resides with Princess Tohrue, King Honda-Dono," said the boy.

"Very good, Yuki-san," said King Honda.

"Huh! What rod of Juunishi?" asked Tohrue

"The one that is encased in the gold box," King Honda said. "you saw it when you were a child, but I might as well explain again, for Kyo-san and Yuki-san's." He leaned back in his seat and seemed to recall the golden days, back when the war had not yet begun.

"As you both know, the Rod of Juunishi has been passed down through the family for years. When a child is born into the family, we have them touch the rod of Juunishi with their right hand, if the zodiac animals on the rod's handle glow, we have found a new heir. Tohrue is the first one in twenty years to be an heir," King Honda said.

"Where do we fit in this?" asked Kyo.

"Well, I've got a question for you, Kyo-san: What started this war in the first place?" King Honda asked.

"The rod of Juunishi, everyone knows that. But why are we here?" Kyo asked.

"The rod of Juunishi was the cause of this war, and the end of it. If Tohrue can unlock the powers of the rod and find all the Juunishi, Bara can win the war," King Honda said.

"Could you give us a bit more information, Honorable Honda-Dono?" asked Yuki.

"Well, I don't know much about the rod myself, but I want you to travel to Hasu, the rod can destroy the Queen Akito, I was told this in a dream," King Honda said.

"You had another vision father!" Tohrue gasped.

"Yes, I saw you fight Queen Akito, I didn't see how, but you definitely won," said King Honda, leaning back in his chair and sighing once more.

"Huh?" Kyo asked, snapping upright.

"I have visions, every once in a while I see some fate that is about to happen. I never remember how something happens, just what happened, this time I saw Tohrue fighting Akito and winning," King Honda elaborated. "Let me give you this scenario: so I see a man who has just one a large amount of money, I do not know how he got the money, what he plans to do with it, or how moral this situation is. But I do know he got money."

"I get it, I think," Yuki said.

"Anyway, enough about that. What I need you to do, Yuki-san and Kyo-san, is take my daughter to the land of Hasu and defeat our rival, Queen Akito," said King Honda.

"Not to be rude, but are you sure that your vision is correct?" asked Yuki.

"It is always right. It predicted my wife: the honorable Kyoko-san's death. A while before that, I saw the birth of Tohrue, I wish I had expected her to give birth while at a feast!" King Honda laughed heartily. "Well, I think I should be letting you on your way tomorrow," suggested King Honda.

"Yes King Honda-Dono," said Yuki as he left the room followed by Kyo. Tohrue got up and followed, at the door the two boys bowed. They each made their way to their rooms and did not so much as glance at each other.

**Tohrue's Room**

Tohrue lay on her bed, staring at the black curtain the covered her canopy bed. She sighed, for the curtain was like the night sky: distant, dark, and unpredictable. Tohrue knew her adventure was going to be like this as well. She knew neither what to expect of this impending adventure nor what to expect from her two "body guards". Tohrue optimistically hoped that they would do the best that they could. The princess of Bara was always optimistic, she knew that it was her job to keep her father and everyone around her happy, but tomorrow she was going to leave. She did not flatter herself, but she imagined her fathers face and all those of the townspeople's, drooping and withering like that of an under-watered rose. The brunette youth also realized that this journey was going to be a hopeful one, one that could change the fate of Bara and Hasu. For the night sky, like the curtain and the adventure that was sure to come was infinite. The Journey did not end once they were defeated or declared victorious. The night sky did not end once the eye could not see any farther. This curtain did not end once the fabric stopped; it was forever imprinted in Tohrue's mind. So nothing ever completely ends not even life. For when someone is truly dead no one thinks about the them, not even in hateful memory. Also, the sky held many surpises, some good some bad. But somewhere, even if we cannot see them, there are stars that are small glimmers of hope across an endless banquet of darkness. Even if we cannot see them.

**Yuki's Room**

Yuki sat on his bed, thinking about the journey to come. He was nervous: protecting a princess was going to be hard. Yuki always was a form of Prince Charming, even as a lowly peasant, who rose to greatness after his family struck gold under their house when he was 6 years old. The gray haired youth became a night at the young age of 14. Now he was considered one of the greatest knights in the land by working hard and learning quickly. He was now 16 and was ready for this mission, but still he doubted himself, which for any warrior, could spell out death.

Yuki knew what he had to do, and he was almost sure he could do it. But after many nights of thinking and questioning his preparations, he began to lose sight of his goal and began to think of every obstacle that got in his way. At first, he knew he would do it. He imagined a whole crowd of smiling and cheerful people calling his name. Then he asked the simplest question ever: What if there were no feast at the end. A totally irrelevant question that ended up into the practical and general "What if I fail."

This always seemed to happen to him. Yuki was always the one who thought up a wonderful seen, then began to pick at it piece by peace, until he had no recollection of the wonderful thought at all. Instead he was filled with doubts, questioning his skills, and the fear of failure. Failure was his biggest obstacle, his biggest nightmare, and his greatest enemy. He always had to fear this obstacle, for failure was never acceptable.

**Kyo's Room**

Kyo practiced his karate movements. The moves, so deadly on the body, were so beautiful and peaceful in the air. These techniques were fast, yet looked so slow and dance-like. Kyo the warrior was practicing his second art, karate. His first talent had always been archery; he had practiced it for years, and could now hit a bulls-eye the size of an acorn with his eyes closed. He used Tai-Chi and Kenpo to increase his awareness. Kyo was more powerful than others realized especially when he was angry. The orange haired youth was always the type to try to prove to people that he could anything.

He would always remember the day he decided to begin training in martial arts. Kyo had been practicing his archery in the palace courtyard at the age of 9. It was a beautiful day and Kyo wanted to go and play. Naturally, it showed when he kept missing the target. He was alone and bored, for he never played with any of the other children in the palace. When he missed for the tenth time in a row, he got angry and annoyed. He lashed out and kicked a tree stump. Kyo cried out when his foot hurt in response to the blow. Suddenly, a boy around his age came around the corner. He said to him "That was stupid." Then he walked away. Kyo just stood there, glaring at the gray haired boy.

"What did you say! I'm not stupid!" shouted Kyo. The gray haired boy turned around once more and smirked. "Did I say you were stupid, all I said was that you did a stupid thing. Idiot."

"I- I'll show you! I'm going to get real strong! Then I won't have to let anyone talk to me disrespectfully! I'll show you!" Kyo said, picking up a rock and attempting to throw a rock at the boy, but missed. The boy turned around once more and smirked in a mischievous manner. "See you around, Idiot."

Kyo's next punch had a much harder snap then all the earlier ones. Every time he thought about that boy, the boy that he never saw again, he got worked up. Yet, when he thought very hard, he realized that he owed something to the boy. He owed him a good punch in the jaw, and a thank you. For without the boy, he never would have started this passion of his and he most likely would still be lost in the world, the arrow and bow being his only love.

He kept punching and kicking with increased precision and power with each passing second. Kyo's look of concentration was broken by a smile. A smile of success and determination paid off. He was so happy that he could do so well. When he was practicing his moves, he felt as though he could do anything. It took a lot to get to this apex within his movements. He had practiced every day with his Shishou, who put him through much strain on his body, mind, and spirit. For a very long time, he felt as though he could not do it. He didn't feel any stronger, and his moves were strong, yet they did not have any character, according to Shishou. After a few years, Kyo reflected on his training. It was then that he realized he had gotten stronger in more ways then one. He could never beat his Shishou, yet when they fought, everything stood still as he laughed and aimed punches, kicks, elbows, strikes and everything else he could at his Shishou.

Shishou had warned him that while it was all well and good to laugh while fighting with him, when it came time for him to really fight, he had to be more focused. Kyo knew that, but still was slightly stung by the remark. He told him he would remember that.

On the bed, Kyo kept his bow. The bow was a beautiful mahogany and was polished until it was shiny. Kyo cared very much about his bow, like a cat to its beautiful silky fur. The drawstring was pure, white horsehair and drew back beautifully and silently. The only sound one would have heard would be seconds before impact: the sound of an arrow whizzing toward them, no time to dodge. Kyo enjoyed this sound, no matter how sadistic it was. To him it was a beautiful thing, like an art collector would find a charcoal painting exquisite. In the end, he knew one thing: that we all have passions and no matter how sick, twisted, immoral or horrid they are in others eyes, we must have them. Even if they are kept secret from the world.

-

While the three teenagers slept, across the land, Queen Akito was sitting in her thrown room. Her thrown was high and had wings on the back. She was sitting haphazardly, her legs falling over on of the arms as she leaned her back on the other. A knock was heard on the large doors that allowed entrance into the thrown room. She shouted, "Come in!"

Two people obediently answered. One was a man of approximately 27 years. He was tall and had a head of blond hair. Next to him stood a woman with long black hair. She had a scowl plastered on her face.

"What can you tell me?" Queen Akito asked, sitting upright.

"I have heard from one of their agents, Uotani, that they are planning to send out Princess Tohrue, a knight named Yuki, and an archer named Kyo. They are coming to destroy you Honorable Akito-Dono," the man said.

"Well, have you found out about the rod of Juunishi, Rin-san?" asked Queen Akito.

"Yes. Tohrue Honda has the rod and is a descendant. Her father, King Honda, said that he saw it in a vision that she would destroy you, Queen Akito-Dono," the woman said.

"Did he say how?" she said, as she leaned foreword a bit.

"No, he said he did not see, but he said he saw her defeating you," said Rin.

"Okay, then we'll just have to change that vision, okay… you and Kureno just need to stay and try to find out more through other palace servants. I know some of them are working for me, so just get information from them," Queen Akito said.

"How do we know which ones?" asked Kureno.

"They'll find you, just…. Look around," said Queen Akito, with a hint of mystery. "You're dismissed."

The two bowed and left to ponder what their Queen had said. But they did not take very long, since they needed to return to the palace of Bara by morning.

Everyone in the palace of Bara was still up. Princess Tohrue was staring at the curtain while smiling softly, thinking of the adventures that were soon to come. Yuki was scared and was picking away at his confidence. Kyo was ready and adrenaline pumped, ready to show everyone what he could do especially the memory of the gray haired boy. King Honda was nervous yet confident that they could succeed. The rest of the castle, under rule of King Honda or not, was anxiously awaiting the adventure that was about to begin the next morning.


End file.
